


a crash course in good intentions

by anthropologicalhands



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: 2x13, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 01:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14008968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthropologicalhands/pseuds/anthropologicalhands
Summary: Nathaniel’s wedding gift to Rebecca does not play out as he intended. Takes place during 2x13.





	a crash course in good intentions

Despite his reputation, Nathaniel Plimpton really didn’t have any ulterior motives for retrieving the father of Rebecca Bunch. His only impetus was the conviction that, well, they didn’t _both_ need to be miserable when it came to their respective father issues.

This kind of distance, Nathaniel could fix.

So he made a few calls. Silas Bunch was not on a remote construction site in Alaska, as Rebecca had predicted, but could be reached instead by landline at a Connecticut address. Surprisingly, he was genial and good-natured over the phone, and responded positively to Nathaniel’s offer, little persuasion required. Of _course_ he could come to the wedding if Nathaniel sent a plane, how could he refuse such a kind gesture? And, by the way, how wonderful it was for him to know that Rebecca had friends who cared so deeply for her.

Rebecca’s reaction was exactly what he hoped for and more than he expected. Both the hug and her guarded but sincere ‘thank you’ left Nathaniel both dazed and relieved. Watching her embrace her father, he felt that this visit would be something good for both of them. Darryl, also watching their reunion, seemed equally affected.

Then he opened his mouth.

“You’re the Labrador, and he’s the owner,” he sighed.

It was a very Darryl thing to say – awkward, intruding on someone else’s moment and, though Nathaniel tried to ignore it, uncomfortably true.

\--

It did not take much effort to get himself invited to the rehearsal dinner; Silas Bunch had been appropriately impressed by Nathaniel’s name and resources to be utterly accommodating.

He supposed he could have just waited for the ceremony, which he already received an invitation for independent of Silas Bunch. Nathaniel still wasn’t sure if Rebecca had kept him on the guest list as a pointed jab to his views on matrimony or to prove that their little elevator kiss didn’t have any effect—

(Not that it had an effect on _him_ , really.

At least nothing worth mentioning.)

—but either way, it would be crass to solicit a bride for attention on her wedding day.

Besides, it couldn’t wait. Nathaniel wanted to talk to her _now_ , while everything made sense and before the nice feeling vanished and the more confusing feelings rose back up again.

Because really, this nice thing he did was _unprecedented_.

The feeling _should_ last longer.

\--

Contrary to Nathaniel’s (nonexistent) expectations, Rebecca was _not_ happy to see him. Appeared to be, in fact, very annoyed by his presence.

Still, at least she didn’t kick him out of her house. Despite his stung pride, Nathaniel moved on easily to mingle with the other guests. Silas had disappeared with Josh Chan to the balcony, to discuss whatever impending in-laws presumably discuss with one another. Meanwhile, Rebecca’s mother grimaced and spat cutting remarks about her ex-husband in nearly every conversation she is having, even the h'orderves, comparing various parts of his anatomy to minced meat and mushrooms.

(Nathaniel made a point to stay out of her way – she was a little intimidating.

He also made a point of avoiding Paula—out of professional courtesy, of course. It had nothing to do with the fact that the way she was side-eying him across the room made him feel a little like a pinned insect under a microscope.)

When Silas returned, Nathaniel made his way over to the corner where the man stood talking with Darryl. It was partly altruistic-- Darryl had that crinkle between his eyebrows that promised conversational disaster if left unchecked—and partly not, as Nathaniel took advantage of the brief lull to inquire about what Rebecca had been like growing up.

(Well, when else would he get the chance?)

Silas laughed and hummed and admitted that, unfortunately, he did not get much of a chance to see Rebecca as she grew up, especially after the divorce. There was the time she surprised him by flying to Santa Fe by herself using her bat mitzvah money to visit, but alas, her mother found out and ended the trip after a couple of days. And then when she had grown, Rebecca had been so busy with her career…

Across the room, Naomi Bunch audibly gagged.

It was all very charming, and Nathaniel had no doubt that a young Rebecca could be capable of such ingenuity.

And yet.

Silas spoke well and warmly, but he seemed so…detached, as if the Rebecca he spoke of was someone else’s charming child, not his own. Rebecca’s own demeanor toward him only sharpened the contrast, the way she hovered at his side whenever she got a break from playing hostess, giggling and talking just a little too loudly and glaring at Nathaniel if he spoke out of turn. Silas would smile and nod and accepted her affection without really reciprocating much of the emotion.

It needled at Nathaniel.

Just…

How was it possible? How could he not give anything back?

As the night went on, Nathaniel’s unease grew, and doubt crept in. Try as he might, Nathaniel could not see anything that Rebecca might have gotten from this man.

Nor, really, if there was anything to be had.

\--

Well.

Abandonment issues.

_That’s_ what Rebecca had gotten from Silas Bunch.

For all of the disasters Nathaniel predicted for Rebecca’s marriage, not that anyone asked, he did expect for there to actually _be_ a wedding.

Instead, twenty minutes after the ceremony was supposed to have started, the bride rushed out alone and headed straight for the cliffside, giving everyone in the wedding party a collective stroke. They all watched, not daring to move, as Paula and her friends run right up to her, trying to coax her back from the cliff’s edge with soft words and outstretched arms.

And her father…

Silas Bunch did _nothing,_ because he was a complete garbage bag of a human being. He looked at Rebecca, jilted at her own wedding, with a mixture of scorn and pity that was just cruel. He called her crazy.

And _then_ he had the gall to turn to Nathaniel, dead serious, and ask about the fucking plane.

For a moment, Nathaniel just looked at him, not quite processing the question. When it clicked, all he could do was exhale a bark of laughter.

He had brought Silas here because it was what _Rebecca_ wanted, because he knew how it felt to want someone’s approval so badly it hurt to breathe and had hoped, against odds, that her father wouldn’t disappoint her.

Her father caused her pain; he would not find a friend in Nathaniel Plimpton.

“Yeah, _right._ ” He scoffed. “Have fun riding coach, dick.”

_And fuck you too._

The warmth in Silas’s eyes died, and the stony scowl he gave to Nathaniel before walking away was chillingly familiar. He only came to get what he wanted – the flattery of being flown out privately, of being catered to at his daughter’s wedding, and it was Nathaniel’s immense pleasure to see the back of him.

But he still felt funny, his stomach twisting and an itch building at the back of his head. It was the same feeling he had sitting in the emergency room not a few weeks back, knowing that Darryl was still in the waiting room, despite all of the casual cruelty to which Nathaniel subjected him.

He needed to apologize to Rebecca. There were actionable steps that could be taken. He could do that. He could make it up to her.

He would do better next time, if she let him.

**Author's Note:**

> I cut so much stuff I liked from this one, it drove me nuts! Anyways, Nathaniel getting Rebecca's father to show up was such an amazing thing to do...except it does also cause Rebecca a ton of pain, because he's a piece of garbage. I wondered if Nathaniel, being of a terrible father himself, might have picked up on it throughout the events of the episode.


End file.
